Major Issues
There are many big-ticket issues to keep a note on that can happen to a streamer. Here are some of them to keep watch for. Doxing Doxing is an illegal act when a viewer comes into stream and says something personal about the streamer that many shouldn’t know. This can range from the streamer’s real name if they don’t want that out there, to their address, number, etc. It doesn’t tend to happen to smaller streamers, but it is still a very real possibility. It can, however, be done in an accidental way, so make sure before you go ban crazy to check the situation. Someone who knows the streamer more personally can let slip some information that shouldn’t be public, which just deserves a quick timeout to erase the message. Other times people will go as far as to donate with something the streamer does not want to be public, which is yet another issue. Best way to handle this as a moderator is to report the users who are doing this intentionally to Twitch and banning them from the channel. They will most likely make more fake accounts to keep attacking the streamer so stay alert. Mixer has a great document that explains Doxing and how to react in a situation like that which is well worth a read here. Things can come of Doxing from others or the same person who went out of their way to do it, such as pizzaing, SWATing, and other issues. Pizzaing is when someone will order a pizza with the streamer’s address (generally during their stream) and send it to their house without paying for it. SWATing is falsely reporting a major crime at the streamer’s house which can lead to someone getting injured or worse. DDosing Something less life-threatening than Doxing but is still a big issue is DDosing. DDosing is when someone gets ahold of your IP address and uses programs to send lots of information to your network to keep you from being able to use the internet. This has happened to people as well as companies in the past (PSN, Xbox Live, many streamers) and can really hurt streamers. There isn’t too much that can be done from a moderator’s situation, but checking the user list and seeing if there is anyone who has been a problem in the past lurking/boasting about it and taking the means to report them. Anything helps in situations like these and being focused on analyzing patterns in users when this is a recurring issue is very helpful. Longtime Supporters There has been a lot of more open discussion of the issues that people have with some longtime supporters as of late. Whether it be following/donating/subscribing/or whatever, some users tend to feel invincible and that they can get away with anything in chat, which can turn a lot of other people off of the stream. Many streamers (and subsequently their moderators) have engaged in this discussion because it is hard to remove someone who may have been supporting for a long time, or with big donations. This ultimately has to fall onto the streamer’s decision, but most more prolific streamers are in the camp of they would rather have an enjoyable chat experience than a stagnant one for the sake of some toxic longtime supporters. Toxic Raids While raiding a streamer is generally done in a positive way to help grow their community or show support from one streamer to the other, there are people who will go on a toxic raid. People may form this raid party on or off Twitch, but they can bombard a chat with negative or toxic messages to try and bring down the streamer or chat itself. It is very easy to see when this happens, and who joined for the sole fact of participating in that and is simple enough to ban each user, as well as report them to Twitch. Reasons to Ban Banning is a very important tool that moderators have, not only as a defense tool but as a preventative one as well. If people act up and get banned, the people who have been watching closely in chat can see that sort of behavior got them banned and most likely will refrain from doing it as well. The reasons to ban are up to the discretion of the mod team and streamer themselves when it comes to the feel of the stream. Every streamer has different rules for their chat, and if people refuse to follow the rules, they need to be removed from chat. This doesn’t mean to ban anyone who breaks small rules a streamer might have (like no swearing), as a timeout would do just fine. However, if people continue the behavior they were timed out for, bans are in play too. So make sure to discuss with your streamer/mod team as to what crosses the line into ban territory for them, but there are also things that cross the line sitewide. Keep in mind, this list is not an extensive list of every reason to ban a user. In the end it is up to you, your mod team, and the streamer you moderate to communicate with each other and understand what they want and don’t want in their community. Some suggestions when it comes to what to be on the lookout for when it comes to people are such: * Generally, anything listed in the TOS and Community Guidelines are good things to look out for in chat. * People purposefully instigating arguments or trying to keep one going after it is clearly done. * When modding for a female streamer especially, people who try to make sexual advances, and post derogatory comments when they are turned down. * Anyone who just thinks posting racist, homophobic, etc. comments is perfectly an okay thing to do. * Self destructive messages (self-harm/suicide threats/etc). Not really a reason to ban on sight, but remove the messages and talk with them in private first. If the user ignores the mod and persists to post these messages, then remove them. * People who threaten the streamer or others in chat whether physical or digitally. * Here are some helpful tips on how to spot and deal with harassment from both Mixer and Twitch. * Scammers + spammers in chat. Scammers usually post malicious links only in chat. Ban Evading If there are viewers who just want to be trolls, (generally experienced with younger kids) and they get banned, sometimes they will create different accounts. They create what are called “alt accounts” to get around the ban to keep being a problem in chat. Most of the time they make it very apparent and even make names to attack the streamer. It is very easy to just ban them on sight as long as you are certain they are in fact an alt account and not someone with a similar name. (Ask other mods about thoughts on this) Category:Pages